Dangerously in love serie
by Marenda
Summary: Post season 5's 'the gift'. Buffy comes back to earth.
1. Death

Death

Authors note: This story begins a day after Buffy died in 'The gift' so if you haven't seen this episode, don't look at me for ruin it for you. Some sentences could be horribly wrong, but, so you know, I'm from Holland. So give me some slack.

***

The cemetery was quiet. Leaves danced in the wind. It was night in Sunnydale.

"So, the lovely slayer has died, I heard you had the hots for her." A vampire stood between the stones. He was talking to another vampire. But the other wasn't evil. He had a wooden stake in his hand. He wore a black leather coat and his hair was bleached. He didn't responded on the commend. 

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you are fighting your own family now, thanks to her! Well, may she rot in hell."

That was it. The bleached vampire snapped. He ran to the vampire before him and buried the wooden stake in his heart. The vampire turned to dust. The bleached vampire dropped the stake on the floor. Then he started to run. Through the cemetery, out of the cemetery over a field. Then under a tree he stopped. 

A gravestone stood there. Tears filled his eyes. He sank down on his knees and started sobbing unstoppable. When he looked up at the gravestone his cheeks were blank from the tears.

Buffy Anne Summers 

1981-2001

Beloved sister and devoted friend

She saved the world a lot

***

_"Dawn listen to me, listen. I love you, I will always love you. This is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles... tell Giles I figured it out and I'm okay. Give my love to my friends; you have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other, you have to be strong. Dawn the hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave, live... for me."_

The last words of her sister before she jumped. Dawn wished she had been the body at the feet of the tower and not Buffy. Buffy died because of her, it was her fault. 

"Dawn?" Dawn heard the voice of her Math teacher Mrs. Anderson. "Dawn, did you hear what I said?" Dawn came back to reality. 

"Ehh...." The teacher frowned. 

"I thought so." The bell rang, the whole class stood up packing their bags. 

 "Dawn?" Dawn stopped packing and looked up. 

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" Dawn nodded and put her last books into her backpack. She swung it over her shoulder and walked towards Mrs. Anderson's desk. 

"I've been noticing that you haven't paid attention much." Dawn didn't look at her teacher; instead she was staring at her shoes. 

"And this isn't the first time." Mrs. Anderson crossed her arms. 

"Dawn, look at me." Dawn looked up into the young face of Mrs. Anderson. Her Blond hair hangs loose on her shoulders. Her blue eyes looked at Dawn. 

"I'm worried about you." Dawn stayed quiet. 

"I understand... with your mother... it must be hard." You don't even know, Dawn wanted to say, instead she just sighed. 

"Maybe you've been working too hard. I understand, with the situation at home, if you want to take some time off, off school, I'll ask the principal..." 

"I'm fine." Dawn cut off.

"Are you sure...? I mean..."

"Yeah, I'm sure." 

***

Meanwhile at the magic shop, Anya was counting the money of a costumer that had just paid. 

"Thank you, do return." She said to the leaving costumer. 

Xander and Willow were sitting at the table in the middle of the shop with Giles on the other side. They were looking through books. 

"Maybe a freezing spell." Willow suddenly spoke. They were figuring out a way to make patrolling a little easier without Buffy.

Xander looked up.

"Yeah, that might actually help." He said. Anya looked over the shoulder of Willow into the book she was studying.

"Oh-no, don't use that spell." Willow looked up at Anya, surprised.

"What?" She asked.

"You don't want to use that spell." Anya said pointing at the book. 

"Why not?" Xander spoke.

"Well, this spell freezes you, but not the demons," Anya explained. "See, you get to be frozen and they get the chance to be kablo-ing Sunnydale or something."

Willow slammed the book closed. 

"Okay, not using this book for a while." She said and picked another book and began reading. The doorbell rang while someone entered.

It was Dawn back from school.

"Hey Dawnie, how was school?" Willow asked while Dawn sat down besides her.

"It was okay." Dawn said with a faked smile. "So, what's up with the Scooby hangin'?" 

"We are searching for a way to make the slaying faster and less dangerous." Willow answered.

"Any luck?" Dawn asked.

"None." Xander answered.

"Oh." Dawn began unpacking her school bag.

"Do you have a lot of homework?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, Math, can you help me with that?" Willow nodded and opened Dawn's math book.

"So, she's fine?" and English voice asked. It was Spike's. He stood with Giles in the training room with the door to the shop half open. They whispered so no one would hear them.

"Yes, knowing that she lost a loving sister she is doing spectacularly well." Giles said.

"Good." Spike sighed. "Look, tell the little bit I said hi okay?" Spike wanted to walk out of the back door.

"Spike." Giles said, Spike stopped. "How are -you-?" Spike didn't answer.

"Spike, please answer me." Giles pushed.

"I'm great," His voice trailed off. He pushed the back door open and walked out into the shadow of the alley.

***

"Be brave, live, for me." Buffy gave Dawn a kiss on her cheek. Dawn looked at her with eyes that begged her not to jump. But Buffy knew she had to. 

The sun was beginning to rise. Buffy ran towards the horizon. 

Then she didn't felt the board under her anymore.

She spread her arms and let herself fall.

Her life passed before her eyes. Her dad, Giles, Jenny, Kendra, Faith, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, Riley, Angel, Spike, Dawn... Then the pain hit in. It hit like a thousand needles through her body. She couldn't think, only at the pain. Then the pain disappeared and Buffy felt like she was floating. All emotion was sucked out of her. Then she fell on the ground. A normal earthly ground with grass. 

Buffy opened her eyes. She lay on a field with the sun shining softly. A shadow was leaning over her. Buffy stood up startled, and then she saw who it was.

"Kendra?" She said. The brown haired slayer stood before her. "But... you're..." 

"Dead?" Kendra asked with a smile on her face. "Yes." 

Buffy hugged her friend tight. 

"But, how?" Buffy asked.

"I am still dead you know." Kendra said and Buffy let go. 

"But...," Buffy's mouth fell open. Kendra knew what Buffy was thinking. "I'm dead?" Buffy asked and Kendra nodded.

***

It turned dark soon after Spike had left the magic shop. 

He headed straight to the nearest cemetery. His whole day was sleeping when the sun was up. Checking on Dawn when she was out of school. And he patrolled when the night fell. He did it all automatic. 

It was only that morning that Buffy had died, but it felt like a century.

Dawn had said that Buffy wanted them to be strong. Well, he'll be strong. 

Though he felt his dead heart being ripped apart, he still held his tears away from public. He only cried when he knew no one saw him. He couldn't afford to break down. 

He loved Buffy so much, even when she did everything to get him out of her life. __

_ "I want you out, I want you out of this town, I want you off this planet"_

_"Get away from me"_

Whatever she did, he kept coming back.

She never bloody love me, it got through his head, but she trusted me.

_"I'm counting on you, to protect her"_

"'Till the end of the world." He said out loud.

Spike approached the cemetery and saw the rest of the Scooby gang.

They had just arrived at the cemetery. 

"What are you lot doing here?" He shouted to them. They turned around.

"Patrolling." Willow answered.

"Go home, I can do this alone, where's Dawn?" Spike said.

"She's at home with Giles," Willow said. "You can't do this alone."

"I can, besides, Buffy didn't want all of you in danger." Spike shouted. 

"We're not in…" Willow was cut off by a vampire who jumped her from behind. She fell on the ground. Spike instantly put his stake, which was in his pocket, through the vampire's heart. The vampire turned to dust above Willow.

"You're all not in danger, yeah right,  and I love the bloody Spice girls." He gave Willow a hand and helped her up.

"Just go home okay?" Spike said. Willow opened her mouth to say something back but she saw the hurt in his eyes. Willow closed her mouth again and felt the guilt flow through her. Xander pulled on Willow's arm. 

"C'mon Will." Xander said and the Scoobies walked off of the cemetery.

***

"What is this place?" Buffy asked Kendra. "Heaven?" Kendra shook her head.

"This is the place between life and death." Kendra explained. "People mostly call it Limbo."

Buffy looked at Kendra. "But, you're dead for a few years, how can you be still trapped here?"

"I was send here to help you." 

"Help me with what? Kendra my job is done." Buffy said. 

"No, your job isn't done, Buffy they want me to guide you back to earth."

"They want you to …, what?" Buffy asked.

"Send you back." Kendra repeated.

"Is that even possible?" 

"They think it is." Another voice said. A girl with brown curly hair walked towards them, her skin was brown too and she was dressed in a battle outfit.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Nikki, I'm a slayer too, well, not since 1977." The girl told Buffy.

Buffy felt something familiar in the name Nikki, where had she heard it before?

"And yes, they think it is." Nikki continued.

"Who is they?" Buffy asked.

"An higher power, they rule over everything, the earth, heaven, hell." Kendra answered.

"Why me? Couldn't they send another slayer?" 

Kendra shook her head.

"You are the strongest." Nikki said.

"Slayer?" Buffy asked.

"Person." Kenra added.

"I ran away from home some years ago! You think I'm stable?" Buffy shouted.

"Whatever you say," Kendra said. "You are needed back on earth."

"The hell mouth will swallow everything into darkness if you're not there to stop it." Nikki backed up.

"But," Buffy's voice broke down. "It wasn't good down there, I don't want to go back again, it's a hell."

Buffy took a deep breath and continued.

"I tried to live, and I…" A tear fell down from her cheek. "I couldn't take care of everything. Not Dawn, not even myself. I died because of it."

Kendra felt sorry for Buffy but continued.

"Your friends need you." She said.

"I know, but I can't take it!" Buffy screamed back and buried her face in her hands.

"If you don't go…" Nikki said. "Dawn'll die."

Buffy looked up.

"W-what?"

"I hoped not to show this to you." Nikki said and drew a square in mid air. Inside the lines of the square was a sort of film shown.

Buffy saw Dawn, being stabbed and bleed to death in an alley.

"Dawn!" Buffy screamed.

"Many demons want the key dead, for her blood, … pricey blood." Kendra explained.

The square faded and Nikki turned to Buffy.

"Send me back," Buffy said. "For Dawn's… For everyone's sake."

The doorbell rang. Giles stood up.

"Hey, Willow, back already?" Dawn looked up when she heard the watcher say Willow's name.

She sat in her pyama's in front of the tv. Willow and Tara walked in.

"Yeah," Willow said. 

"I thought you were planning on partolling longe." Giles asked.

"Spike was there, he kinda send us away." Tara explained while Willow sat down on the couch.

"Like we can't handle a little vampire." Willow said angry.

"He just wants to keep you save." Dawn said defending Spike.

"We know, Dawnie." Tara said. Tara gave Dawn a smile to make things a little better.

"He just came rushing into the cemetery, without any excuse and pulled us away from there!" Willow continued, her voice increased in volume.

"That son of a ..." 

"You have no right to say that!" Dawn cut Willow off.

"He is trying..." Dawn felt anger well up in her. "To survive, and if you could be a bit more supportive you would see that!" Dawn ran past Willow upstairs. Willow tried to follow her, but Dawn slammed the door into her face.

"Dawnie?" Willow entered Dawn's room. Dawn lay with her back to Willow on her bed.

"Go away." 

Willow walked to the side of the bed and sat down on it. 

"Dawn, I'm sorry," Dawn sat up.

"What use is an apology when Buffy is still dead?" Dawn asked the Wiccan.

Willow put an arm around Dawn's shoulders.

"I know..." Dawn crept to Willow and sat there for a moment.

"But still, I'm sorry." Willow said and Dawn smiled.

Spike was fighting three vamps on the cemetery.

They seemed to master hm buy Spike fought back. 

Two vampires grabbed his arms and the third smashed his fist in Spike's stomach.

Spike collapsed on the ground and he got another smack, this time against his jaw.

Spike got loose from the two vamps whom were holding him and tackled one of them.

He tried to stake the vampire on the ground, but one of the other vamps jumped him and wrestled him to the ground.

Spike got a punch in his face and waited for the next punch to hit him.

But it never came.   
  
"You guys are really fair, three against one!" He suddenly heard. He recocnised the voice.   
  
No, it can't be, he thought.   
He opened his eyes and saw a dark figure fight the vampires off. Finally, when the last one was staked, the figure turned to Spike.   
  
She, he thought, she's back!   
  
Buffy stood there in front of his eyes and he wasn't dreaming!   
Buffy stook out her hand to help Spike up, he took the hand gratefully and stood up.   
  
"H-how?" He whispered.   
She didn't answered, she just stared into his blue eyes.   
Her hair was a mess, all sweat and dirt. Spike took her hands in his. He felt they were bleeding.   
God, he thought, she dug herself out of the grave!   
A tear fell down his cheek.   
Buffy saw it and brushed it away with her hand.   
Spike couldn't hold anymore and hugged her tight.   
"Buffy," He sobbed in her shoulders. "I missed you, I thought I wasn't going to make it, oh god, Buffy." His voice trailed off.   
"Spike," Buffy began.   
Spike let go of her to let her speak. But instead Buffy fainted of exhaustion. Spike caught her.   
Then he sat down with the unconcious Buffy in his arms.   
He brushed the dirty hair out of her face.   
Oh god, she still was beautiful, Spike tought and held her close.   
He kissed her forehead, not wanting to let her go.

"Is she Okay?"Giles asked Willow who came down the stairs.   
"Yeah, just a little sleepy, and teary." She answered.   
"Okay, well, see you all tomorrow, I'm going home." Giles anounced. He grabbed his coat and walked toward the door.   
"Okay." Willow said.   
"Bye Giles." Tara added. Giles opened the door and left.   
Tara closed the door behind him.   
"You know..." Tara paused. "You really had no right to say those things about Spike." Willow sighed.   
"I know, I guess I crossed the line a little too far," Willow swallowed hard. "It just blurted out, I still don't know what came over me." Willow had tears in her voice.   
"Oh," Tara saw the tears in Willow's eyes appear. "Oh honey." Tara pulled Willow close for a hug.   
"Everything is just so screwed up!" Willow cried onto Tara's shoulder.   
"I know." Tara said.   
"I miss Buffy." Willow cried again and her voice trailed off.   
"Me too." Tara comforted Willow.

Dawn stared at her white ceiling.   
She missed her sister SO much, everything was just so screwed up without her.   
She turned in her bed but shook up by a loud sound. Someone kicked the door open really loud.   
  
Willow and Tara sat together in front of the tv when the door flew open and Spike came rushing in.   
Willow and Tara stood up quick.   
"What...?" Willow started. Then she saw the girl in his arms.   
Spike walked towards the couch and put the girl on the couch. Willow saw the girl's face.   
"Buffy." She said finally realising.

Dawn snucked out of her bed and headed downstairs.   
"What happened?!" She heard the hysterical voice of Willow.   
"I don't know, I was just out patroling and there she was!" Spike was there too. Dawn was getting curious, what were they talking about?   
Dawn arrived at the bottom of the stairs. She saw Willow, Tara and Spike standing in the living room.   
The front door was whide open. Tara saw Dawn at the bottom of the stairs.   
"Dawn?" She said and Dawn pointed at the door.   
"The door is whide open, why?" Dawn said and Willow looked up startled.   
"Eh..., Dawn, we want to show you something, but don't freak, okay?" Willow walked towards Dawn.   
"Why, is it bad?" Dawn had no idea what Willow was talking about. Willow took her into the living room and Dawn saw the girl on the couch.   
"Oh God." Dawn said and rushed over to the couch. She sank on her knees and grabbed Buffy's hand.   
"What did you do?!" Dawn shouted at Willow.   
"We didn't do anything!" Spike defended her. "She suddenly was there!"   
Dawn put her hand on the side of Buffy's face and shivered.   
"She's so cold." Dawn said.   
"We should get her in bed." Tara said and Willow nodded.   
Spike lifted Buffy from the couch and carried her up the stairs. Dawn held Buffy's door open for Spike.   
He put Buffy on the bed and lay the blanket over her.   
He gave Buffy a kiss on her fore head. She turned her head but didn't wake up. Spike walked out of the bedroom and down stairs.   
Willow noticed it and walked after him.   
"Where are you going?" She asked him.   
"Back to the cemetery, 'think I could catch a couple o' vamps before dawn." He opened the front door.   
"A-and Buffy?" Willow asked. Spike stopped and turned to Willow.   
"She doesn't need me." He resumed his pace and closed the door behind him.   
"Yes she does." Willow said to the door.

"Where is Spike?"Dawn asked when Willow came back in the room.   
"He left." Willow sighed.   
"Maybe it's better that way." Dawn said.   
"What should we do now?" Tara asked. "I mean, does Buffy know what has happened? How she's alive again?"   
"We'll hear it tomorrow." Willow said. She looked at Tara and Tara got out of the room.   
"Dawnie, are you coming?" Willow asked Dawn.   
"No, I'll stay here with Buffy." Dawn lay down next to Buffy and curled up. Willow walked to the door and closed it behind her.   
  
Spike opened the door. Buffy lay motionless in her bed, well, except for her breathing.   
Spike closed the door soft behind him and walked to the bed.   
Hey, he thought and saw another figure in the dark laying next to Buffy.   
"Dawn," he grinned "just couldn't leave big sis alone did you?"   
He took Dawn in his arms and carried her to her room.   
When he finally got tucked in, he returned to Buffy's room.   
He sat down in a chair in the corner of the room and waited.   
  
Buffy woke up the next morning in her own bed.   
How did she get here? She remembered the slaying on the cemetery the previous night.   
Spike must've had a heart attack if he could have one.   
She smiled, yes, Spike.   
She turned and closed her eyes. Why did she thought of Spike when she died?   
"Good mornin' " A deep voice spoke. Buffy's eyes flew open and she sat up straight.   
"Spike??!!"She shouted.

The vampire stood up from the chair in the corner. He walked across the room towards Buffy's bed.   
  
"Why are you here?" Buffy asked with her blanket pressed to her chest.   
"To check on you." Buffy frowned.   
"Why, am I sick?" Buffy asked.   
Spike sat down on the bed.   
"Buffy, you just stood up from the grave, you don't need to expect for all things to be great again." He said. "What happened?"   
"I don't know exactly, they only said that my job wasn't done on the hellmouth." Buffy tried to explain.   
"They?" Spike asked with a questioning face.   
"Forget it, I'm just happy all is over." Buffy rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.   
"Me too," Spike grabbed Buffy's hand and held it tight. "I was so lost without you here."   
Buffy felt her heart pound faster.   
Spike looked up into Buffy's eyes, he felt her heart speed up!   
"Buffy...?"   
Buffy closed her eyes.   
"Go away." She said with a voice full of hatred and wriggled her hand out of his. "Just go, and stay away from me." She looked up and saw the pain in his eyes. She couldn't bare it. She suddenly stood up from the bed and walked towards the door.   
She opened the door but hesitated. Then she finally walked out of the room.   
  
She could feel the pain from Spike of her saying those words.   
  
Because it hurted her too.

Dawn saw her former dead sister walk into the kitchen.   
"Buffy!" She shouted and hugged her tight.   
"Hey Dawnie." Buffy said hugging her back.   
Dawn let go of her sister and saw that she had fixed herself up. New clothes and she had washed her hair.   
"I missed you," Dawn said with tears in her voice. "But I've been strong."   
Buffy stroke her sisters hair like she had allways done.   
"I know you have." Buffy said. Then Buffy saw Willow and Tara.   
"I've missed you guys too." Buffy hugged Willow. Then Buffy let go of Willow and hugged Tara.   
"Tara, I'm glad to see you well again." Buffy said and let go of Tara.   
Tara looked at Buffy questioning, but she finally got it.   
"Oh, That?" Tara remembered the braindamage Glory had done. "I'm glad to see you alive again."   
"We all are, but, Buffy, what happened?" Dawn asked. Willow shove a chair to Buffy and she sat on it. Dawn sat down too.   
Buffy began telling her friends what had happened from dying to crawling out of her grave.   
  
"Wow, Kendra? For real?" Willow asked stunned. Buffy nodded.   
"Wild." Dawn said.   
"Pretty much." Buffy said. "But enough about me, how are you guys doing?"   
"Well," Willow began. "Dawn here doesn't skip classes anymore."   
"I've even lived through math yesterday." Dawn said proud.   
"Good." Buffy stroke Dawn's hair again.   
"A-and Xander and Anya are engaged!" Tara said.   
Buffy's eyes whidened.   
"What? When?" She said.   
"You can ask them yourself, we'll go to the magicshop." Dawn said and hopped of the chair she was sitting on.   
"Yeah, that's an great idea!" Willow said.

The door of the magicshop swung open and Willow walked through it.   
Xander looked up from the table and greeted his friend.   
"Hey Will, how's it going?" Then he saw who followed.   
It was Buffy.   
"Oh my god Buffy!" He stood there in the magic shop, stunned.   
"Hey Xander." Buffy said.   
"But,... h-how?" Xander said with a shaking voice.   
  
"Hey, have you seen...aaarrrgggh!" Anya came in holding a vase.   
When she saw Buffy she screamed and dropped it.   
The vase scattered in a thousand pieces.   
Everything was quiet. Anya had her hands as a mask over her mouth.   
Dawn stood next to Buffy looking at the scattered vase on the ground.   
Anya pulled her hands from her mouth.   
"Y-you supposed to be dead!" Anya shouted.   
"Hello to you too Ahn." Buffy said.   
"Anya is right...Well partly, you were dead." Xander said.   
"Well, here I am." Buffy said with a sort of faked tone of happyness.   
Xander walked to Buffy and hugged her.   
"I missed you." Xander said.   
"Me you too." Buffy said.   
"But again with the how?" Xander let go of Buffy.   
Buffy began explaining to Xander and Anya what she had told Willow, Tara and Dawn.   
  
On that moment Giles came in through the back door. He stopped when he saw Buffy.   
"By god." Giles said. Buffy turned to Giles.   
"Giles..." She said but she couldn't end her sentence. Giles rushed toward her and hugged her.   
"O-okay..." Buffy said and let go of Giles.   
"What is this?" Giles said with a small voice.   
Buffy took a deep breath and filled everyone in on her adventure. Including Giles.

Spike got to his crypt when it was dark.   
At his home the tears began to fall.   
  
It was because of everything.   
Buffy, raised from the dead, how she treated him... Everything!   
  
He stopped his tears just from falling. There was someone in his crypt. A familliar feeling crept upon him.   
Then there she was, from the darkness of the crypt she beamed light, well so it seemed for him.   
It was the slayer, his slayer. Where he was so hopelessly in love with.   
  
She looked so beautiful, he thought, with her freshly combed hair, silksoft cheecks and eyes you could drown in.   
She had her ussual black pants on and a sky blue top without sleeves. Her arms were crossed.   
  
"Buffy..." Spike said with a shaking voice.   
"I just wanted to say, thank you, for protecting Dawn." Buffy said.   
"Great protection, I let doc get to her!" Spike said.   
"NO! That wasn't your fault!" Buffy shouted. "It's weird but it's true, I'm glad I died. It put things in perspective..." Buffy explained.   
They stood in front of eachother for a while, quiet.   
Then Spike couldn't hold back and lent to Buffy.   
For Buffy it came out of nowhere(not for us), Spike kissed Buffy on the mouth.

Buffy pushed Spike away from her.   
  
"What the hell dyou think you're doing??!!" Buffy screamed.   
"Well,... eh... I thought..." Spike tried to talk it good.   
"You THOUGHT?" Buffy shouted.   
"Okay! I...I wasn't thinking!" Spike said.   
"NO!!! I figured you weren't!" Buffy's eyes were wide open and looked accusingly at Spike.   
"I...I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't..." Spike was cut off by Buffy hitting his jaw hard with her fist.   
Spike fell backwards on the ground.   
He clambed his hand to his jaw and looked up at Buffy.   
  
"Bloody Hell! Why did you do that?" Now it was Spike's turn to shout.   
"For kissing me!" Buffy shouted back.   
"Why?" Spike stood up.   
"Why what?" Buffy crossed her arms.   
"Why did you hit me? Cuz you obvious seemed to like it, well the kissing part."   
"Oh Spike, just get over me." She snarled. She turned and walked away.   
  
"C'mon now luv! Don't..." Buffy slammed the door. "Run."   
  
THE END OF EPISODE 1


	2. Devil's daughter

Okay, what had happened so far: (important for the next fic)   
  
- Buffy had died(Okay, seen the gift?)   
- She was brought back.   
- Buffy had gone to Spike's crypt just to see him(yeah right Buffy, Was that the only reason...?)   
- They kiss and Buffy blows Spike off again at the end of the Eppy.

**Devil's daughter**

Buffy came in through the front door.   
"Buffy! Where have you been?" Willow shouted concerned.   
"Just checkin' out the mess," Buffy lied. "The mess the demons can do when you're a few days dead." She added when she saw Willow's questionings face.   
"I think it would be an even more of a tragic if your family knew you were dead! They could've taken Dawn away!" Willow added.   
"Hey, why didn't you told them anyway?" Buffy asked.   
"Well, were going to tell them, but..."   
"...But what?" Buffy asked.   
"Xander wanted to, a-and Dawn wanted to, but I didn't, I-I said I'd take care of it..."   
"But you didn't? Why?"   
"I'd figure it wouldn't matter if you were alive again,... and... I just wanted to...And now, see, Hey you're here... a-and I didn't needed to..." Willow babbled.   
"You were planning to bring me back?" Buffy shouted finally realizing.

"Kinda," Willow said with a small voice. "Don't be mad."   
"Well, in the end it turned out okay, but yes I would be VERY pissed if you brought me back, the trip back to life last time wasn't pleasant," Buffy told her friend. "But you didn't brought me back, so I think I'll let it slide... don't ever try to bring me back again, EVER." Willow nodded wich got Buffy a little cooled down.   
  
"So, Did you see Spike?" Willow changed the subject. They walked into the kitchen and sat down on a chair.   
"Ehm.., Why?" Buffy asked back.   
"Well he brought you to us from the graveyard, maybe he too would like to hear the story, you know, what happened." Willow said.   
"Yeah, I saw him, and Yeah, I told him." Buffy said.   
"What did he say?" Willow asked. Buffy sighed and stared out of the window.

Spike enters Willy's bar. He sits down at a stool.   
"Spike..." Willy is surprised to see Spike. "Haven't seen you for a while..."   
"Didn't have much spare time on my hands." Spike answers with a cranky face.   
"What can I get ya?" Willy askes. "The usual?" Spike nods and Willy turns to fix him a drink.   
Spike stared at the bar, and thought about Buffy.   
What a bitch popped up in his head.   
He sighed.   
  
Someone sat down besides him.   
"Hey Spike." A female spoke.   
Spike looked up into a woman's face.   
"Reese?" Spike recocnised the female.   
"The one and only," She said. The girl was truely a hottie. She wore black leather pants and a black tanktop on top of that. She had her black leather coat in her hand.   
"What are you doing here?" Spike asked sitting up.   
"Just seeing you, you didn't think I would let you slip away after that night?" She said with a naughty look on her face.   
"That was some time ago, why now?" Spike asked.   
"Hey, give me some slack, I was busy, busy killing and stuff, they had a club for vampire hunters set up in Brazil," Reese told him. "Too bad you weren't there."   
"Yeah well, I had other things on my mind." Spike said.

"What kind of things?" Reese asked.   
"I don't want to talk about it." Spike cut off the conversation.   
"Spike, you NEVER want to talk about it! Not even the last time with that thing of Drusilla, but that doesn't mean I can't get it out of ya with some flask." Spike looked Reese in the eyes. He remembered how he totally lost himself in her after some bottles of burbon.   
God, she was still hot, even when he was sober.   
Her hazel eyes made him want to lose himself all over again. She had put her darkbrown hair up for a change, he haven't seen her without her hair loose, but then again, he only saw her one night.   
"That was one time..." Spike defended.   
"Three." Reese corrected him.   
Spike saw Willy gave him his glass of blood, and staring at Spike.   
"What are you staring at?" Spike asked him and Willy quickly looked another way.   
"Look, don't put it on yourself, a lot of guys do this between flames." Reese assured him.   
"I Don't." Spike says and drinks his last drops out of the grass.   
"Oh, you did, I know you have this whole loyal puppy thing going on, but hey mister, you DID." Reese said putting her coat on.   
Spike looked at Reese.   
"So, wanna see Sunnydale?" He asked paying Willy for the drink.   
"Sure." Reese immediately answered and walked with him out of the bar.

-----------

Spike heard something outside.

Not wanting to talk to Reese about this subject, he turned away and opened the door again.

Outside he found...Xander!

Fighting a vampire. It was only a small one but Spike didn't want to take the chance and helped Xander.

Spike ran to the vampire and started fighting it. After a struggle the vampire ended on the wooden stake of Xander.

"What are you doing here?" Spike asked Xander.

"I'm actually looking for Buffy, is she here?"

"She's already home, I think." Spike says with a grumpy face.

"You know… This wasn't just the reason I wanted to talk to you, I just wanted to tell you…" Spike looked up at Xander. "Don't get any ideas after today." 

"What are you talking about?" Spike asked. But he knew what Xander was whining about, the same thing he was ALWAYS whining about. He and Buffy.

 "Don't start. You and Buffy, you are not going to think you are right for each other, not any more; you are not going to stalk her once again, you are going to turn and you're going to leave, out of her life." Xander said on a demanding tone.

Spike usually didn't listen to Xander, but this time it was different, something in his words stabbed him like a knife.

Spike didn't say anything. Xander turned and left the cemetery.

Spike turned around angry and headed back to his crypt.

"So, bagged any slayers?" Reese asked not taking the effort to look up. She was checking her fingernails. Spike went straight for her and stopped in front of her. 

Reese looked up from her nails and looked into Spike's eyes.

Spike pulled Reese to him and kissed her. Reese didn't hesitate to kiss him back, like her life depended on it. 

Spike let go and pulled off her halter top. Reese later pulled off his shirt, leaving his muscles pressed to her chest. 

Spike pulled her down and they continued their make out session on the floor.

Dawn just came out of school and made her way through the houses towards the cemetery. She hadn't payed Spike much visits lately, but she had the feeling she should now, with the whole Buffy thing.   
She entered the cemetery of Spike's crypt and soon found the entrance of it.   
When she opened it she called out his name.   
"Spike! Are you here?" She said. Then she saw two bodies wrapped around eachother fast asleep under a thin blanket. She stopped and saw it was Spike with an unknown woman.   
"Spike!" Dawn screamed. Spike's eyes flickered open and he sat straight up. When he saw Dawn he screamed:"Dawn! Bloody hell, where are you shouting at?"   
The woman woke too and saw Dawn.   
"W-who is that?" Dawn said with a shocked voice.   
"Dawn, this is Reese." Spike said. Dawn took a good look at Reese.   
_Ha, what a slut._ Dawn thought. Reese's hair was all messed up and she had her hands around her shoulders.   
Reese looked up with eyes full of arrogance.   
Dawn saw that Reese's nails were polished black.   
_And certainly Gothic._   
"Reese this is Dawn." Spike said to Reese.   
"Yeah, that would've sound MUCH more reasonable with your clothes on." Reese said to him and raised an eyebrow.   
"Eh,... yeah." Spike said and looked around for his pants.   
Dawn saw them lying by her feet and picked them up.   
"Here." She said and tossed them to Spike. Spike caught them and put them on.   
Reese didn't seem to worry to put something on. She still lay under the blanket.   
"So, you're the slayer's sis?" Reese asked.   
"Uh-huh." Dawn nodded.   
"So, are you like... serieous? Or just... one night stand?" Dawn asked Spike when he had his pants fully on.   
Reese turned her head to Spike.   
"Yeah." She said.   
"What happened to the whole stalking Buffy thing?" Dawn asked.   
"You stalked her?" Reese questioned him laughing.   
"Yeah," Spike turned his head to Dawn. "And it's gone."   
"Gone?" Dawn asked stunned. "How can the love of your life be gone in one day?"   
"Okay, I just saw it was useless and I reconsidered." Spike said. Dawn looked at him with angry eyes. There was a pause.   
"I don't get you." Dawn said and turned to the crypt door and opened it. But she turned back.   
"If I were you, wich I thank I'm NOT," Dawn said to Reese. "I'd put some clothes on, 'cause this? NOT making a good impression." Dawn pointed at Reese's blanket.   
Dawn turned and left.   
Reese looked at herself.   
"What is she talking about?" She wondered.   
"The whole nude thing, pet." Spike helped her.   
"Okay, I'll dress, on one condition." Reese stood up and folded the blanket around her.   
She walked to Spike.   
"Answer this..." She said and Spike puts his arms around her.   
"One night stand... or Girlfriend?"

Buffy was training in the back of the magic shop.   
She was hitting the punchbag hard in the middle.   
Willow came in.   
"I see you send Giles away." She said.   
"Yeah." Buffy stopped hitting and walked to her friend. "I wanted some time alone."   
Willow and Buffy sat down on the couch in the room.   
"I love you, you know that right?" Willow suddenly said.   
"Yeah, of course I know," Buffy said. "Why dyou say that? I-is something bad happening?"   
"No, no, it's just, before you die, I want to tell you." Willow said. "Seeing that I haven't said it more often BEFORE you died, so I love you." Buffy smiled and hugged her friend.   
  
The bell of the shop ring and then they heard Giles.   
"Buffy, Dawn's back form school." Buffy and Willow got up and walked to the front piece of the shop.   
"Hey Dawnie, how was school?" Buffy asked.   
"Yeah fine." Dawn said.

"And you DID go?" Buffy asked.   
Dawn smiled.   
"Yeah." Dawn, Willow and Buffy sat down at the magic shop table.   
Anya and Giles were busy with the costumers.   
"So, Willow, what are you going to do with the Buffy-bot?" Dawn asked. Buffy looked at Willow.   
"Buffy-bot? Dyou still have it?" Buffy asked.   
"Yeah, I just kept it to examn it." Willow explained. "No big Buffy, it's already a scrapheap."   
"Yeah, after what Glory did to it." Dawn added.   
"Good, I don't want ANYONE to revive that THING again, I mean... with what it was meant for in the beginning." Buffy explained.   
"Oh, he WON'T be needing that thing anymore." Dawn blurted out.   
"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked looking at her.   
"I went to Spike's crypt just now, and yeah, I know you don't approve, but he wasn't alone." Dawn told her sister. "He has got himself a girlfriend."   
"W-what?" Willow asked.   
Buffy giggled.   
"Spike has a what?" She asked between her giggles.   
"A new girlfriend, I caught them together in his crypt." Dawn said.   
"What? DAWN!!!" Buffy shouted. Now it was Willow's time to laugh.   
"Well not like they were doing any thing! They were finished when I got there." Dawn defended herself. Willow started to laugh harder.   
"Dawn!" Dawn got anoter angry look from her sister. Willow's laughing was becoming unstoppable.   
"Was it human, or vampire, or demon?" Buffy asked.   
"Why don't you go ask him?" Dawn callenged her.   
"NO THANK YOU, last time I was in his crypt he kissed me." Willow stopped laughing, and was now couching.   
"A-and you let him." Giles asked joining the conversation.   
"No! of course NOT!" Buffy answered.   
"So you made him VERY clear that you didn't like it?" Willow asked whiping away her tears from her laughing.   
"Yeah, I punched him, THAT should make SOMETHING clear." Buffy said.   
"You punched him? Buffy, he's allmost breaking down mentally and you do thid?!" Dawn shouted.   
"And WHY does he have a new girlfriend then?" Buffy looked round the group.   
"I'll tell ya, he's moving on."

"Okay, ehm... best group ever." Reese asked Spike while they where at the cemetery.   
It was night.   
Reese sat on top of a tomb and Spike stood against a large grave stone.   
"I don't exactly HAVE a favourit group or anything... But I like the Ramones." Spike said. "And you?"   
"Well, Christina Aguilera,... She rocks, even for a human." Reese said.   
"You dress like her." Spike notices. "Well, a bit."   
Reese smiled.   
Suddenly Spike heard something behind him.   
He turned around but saw nothing.   
  
The vampire was relieved. His master said NOT to let himself be seen. And he kept his promise. Spike turned back to the lady vampire and continued talking.   
The vampire moved in the bushes but made a little too much sound. He stayed still again.   
Again it stayed quiet.   
But suddenly a hand grabbed the throat of the vampire and pulled him out.   
  
Spike held up the vampire.   
"Looky looky what I've found." _(author's note: I think this sentence was used before by Spike, but I liked it SO much and I put it here.)   
_Spike said.   
"Who send you here?" Spike asked. The vampire didn't spoke and only shook it's head.   
"You'd better answer him." Reese warned.   
"I won't answer!" The vampire shouted.   
"We could ripp your guts out, and then torchure you some more, sooner or later, we will get what we want." Spike told the vampire.   
Spike tightened his gripp on the vampire's throat.   
"O-okay, don't hurt me! The only thing I know is that I had to spy on you." The vampire said.   
"By who?" Reese asked.   
"I don't know. I really don't he kept himself hidden for me all along!" The vampire defended.   
"Okay." Spike said casually and put a stake through the vamp's heart. After dusting off his hands he put the stake back into his pocket.   
Reese looked at him questioning.   
"He didn't knew more if that was your worry." Spike told her.

Spike and Reese began walking.   
"So," She suddenly said. "Are you still in love?"   
Spike looked up.   
"What? With who?" He asked.   
"The slayer, c'mon who dyou think I was talking about?" Reese blurted out.   
"Nothing. And I don't think so, I've decided that I have NO shot with her." Spike said. And Reese smiled.   
"From now on, I'm starting on trying to kill her again." Spike said and put an arm around Reese's shoulder.   
"By the way, the answer to you question is girlfriend." Spike said. Reese looked up at him.   
"You-you're serious?" She didn't got an answer because they approached a place where Buffy was battleing a vamp.   
Spike's attention was instantly drawn by the slayer.   
"We could help her of course... " Reese said sarcastic but Spike was already running to help Buffy.   
"Hey!" Reese shouted. "William, you are SO gonna pay for this!"   
The vamp Buffy was battling was now straddling her to the ground. Spike pulled him off of her and grabbed her stake.   
With one movement he dusted the vampire.   
He stook out his hand to help Buffy up.   
"Yeah right.. remember what you've promised?" Reese ran at them.   
Reese was very angry.   
"Ah, the new girl..."Buffy said taking a look at Reese.   
"Reese."Spike filled her in.   
"Ah, REESE, well, you've got yourself a problem you see, I, " Buffy pointed at her chest. "Slayer, you" She pointed at Reese. "Vampire, I should kick your butt."   
"Very nice,"Reese fired back. "But why does HE still excist?" Reese pointed at Spike. "Was his butt too cute to kick?"   
"We should go." Spike interferred.   
He pulled Reese away by her arm.   
"See ya later GIRLFRIEND!" Reese shouted at Buffy and they dissapeared between the trees.   
"Girlfriend? Okay, she's not only dressed like a slut, she talks like a bimbo too." Buffy commented. "Girlfriend?" She mumbled when she walked away.

"So?" Willow asked Buffy over breakfast.   
"Huh?" Buffy woke up from her day dream and noticed her serial getting mushy.   
"So, tell me." Willow said again. Buffy took a bite from her serial and looked at Willow with a questioning face.   
"I was supposed to tell you something?" She asked with her mouth full.   
"About Spike's gilfriend." Willow hinted.   
"Yeah, what's she like?" Tara asked who sat next to Willow at the table.   
"Well, certainly vampire, imagine her like a vampire Faith and a Goth girl in one." Buffy explained.   
"Oh,... scary." Tara said.   
"Slutty." Willow added.   
"Yeah." Buffy said. "A-and when they left she said - see ya later GIRLFRIEND- I mean, who says that nowadays? GIRLFRIEND."   
"She's one FAR behind chick." Willow said.   
"My DAD could say that cooler!" Buffy said. The backdoor opened and Xander came in.   
"So, people, what're you talking about?" He asked.   
"Spike's girlfriend." Buffy answered.   
"Awhatnow?" Xander asked shocked.   
Buffy looked questioning at Xander, and she remembered he wasn't there yesterday in the magic box.   
"Spike has a new girlfriend, bit of a weirdo but female." Buffy said.   
"So, Clyde met his Bonnie?" Xander asked.   
"I hope so, at least he doesn't follow me like a puppy anymore." Buffy said relieved.   
"But that stops him from killing right?" Xander pointed out. "Loving you, now he could channel his evilish plans through this new one right?"   
It was quiet for a second.   
"Great, I don't get any time off." Buffy commented.   
Dawn came into the kitchen.   
"Off what?" She asked.   
"Slayin'." Buffy explained.   
"So, we'd better keep an eye at Spike and...." Tara looked at Buffy.   
"Reese." Buffy told her.   
"Don't they ussually use that for boys? That name?" Xander asked.   
"What about 'Reese Witherspoon' ?" Dawn said. "She's a girl."   
"SO? It's still a terrible name." Xander said.   
"I think it's a nice name." Willow said. She saw the look on Buffy's face and rephrased her sentence.   
"For probably a horrible person, but still it's a not so terrible name."   
"you have to go to school." Buff noticed. Dawn picked up her school bag and hugged Buffy quick goodbye.   
"Bye Willow, Bye Tara." She said and got out of the house with Xander.

Spike heared the door of his crypt open, and then he heard the sound of heels on stone.   
He was in his own made basement of his crypt.   
Suddenly a small package fell down the ladder he had installed there as a way to the upper level.   
Then a young female with dark brown hair followed down, climbing.   
When she was at the end she picked up the small package and walked to Spike.   
"I've had a little trip to the hospital." Reese threw the package at him and he caught it. Spike noticed it was a blood transfuse package.   
"Human blood, haven't got that in a while." Spike looked up at Reese. "Where did you get this?"   
"I said I went to the hospital this mornin' " She saw the look on Spike's face. "Through the sewers of course, I sucked a nurse dry on my way here, I figured it was no use to drag her up her so I got this for you." Spike walked over to Reese and kissed her, she pulled back.   
"It's almost dark, I'm going out." Reese said and walked to the back of the crypt. Spike heard his closet open. When Reese moved in there she brought a whole waredrobe.   
Spike looked at the blood package.   
He could just drink that.   
NO! He thought, when I first start to drink blood I can't stop.   
Spike threw the package under his bed and sat on the bed.   
After a few minutes Reese came back in a new outfit.   
"So," She put her arms around his neck and sat on his lap. "Is my man ready?"   
"So you know, I'm not going to the bronze." Spike said. "Anywhere but there."   
Reese pulled her arms back.   
"I-is this because of the slayer? I could snap her neck for you, you know that." Reese said.   
"I'm just... I don't feel like bumping into her right now." He explained. Reese looked at him, feeling the anger rising to her head.   
"Fine." She said angry and got off of him. "So YOU know, I'm not going to let myself be stopped by a slay-bitch."   
Reese climbed up the stairs.

All the scoobies were in the bronze.   
They all sat in a corner on some couches.   
Xander took a deep sniff of air.   
"Dyou smell that?" He asked.   
"Teenagers in a dusty basement smell?" Buffy asked.   
"No, the dance smell, Anya, you wanna?" Xander asked Anya and she nodded. They walked to the dancefloor.   
"Buffy,.. you mind if we eh..." Willow began and pointed at the dance floor.   
"Not at all." Buffy said and Willow and Tara left too.   
Buffy looked around a while, seeing the people dancing.   
"So thay left you huh?" Buffy heard behind her.   
She turned around quickly and saw Reese, dressed again fully in black, behind her.   
Buffy stood up fast.   
"What're you doing here?" Buffy asked.   
"Just havin' some fun, you look like you need some." Reese sat down on Willow's spot.   
"Well, that's hard to get with you guys around." Buff threw back. "Now, why are you here."   
"The bronze is the only place you can party in this dusty old hellmouth, you have to give us vampires some slack!"   
"No, I don't, I kill them, even here, even if that means giving up my free time." Buffy said volume rising. Reese stood up.   
"Bring it on then."

Reese was thrown against a cold brick wall. Buffy was the one that threw her. They were in the alley behind the bronze.   
"Was that all?" Reese spat towards Buffy.   
"No." Buffy kicked into Reese's face. Reese vamped out and Buffy threw another kick at her. Reese grabbed her foot and threw it up, forcing Buffy into a cartweel backwards.   
Buffy quickly stood up and gave Reese a couple of fists in her face, wich she blocked.   
Reese kicked Buffy in the side and Buffy smacked to the ground.   
Reese picked her up from the ground by her hair an made her look up at her face.   
"You're not so tough anymore now are you girlie?" Reese threw Buffy to the brickwall by her hair.   
Buffy hit the wall with her face and when she turned she saw Reese approaching her, she grabbed Buffy's jaw hard.   
"Now let's see how pretty you are..." Reese started and ended her sentence with grabbing the sides of Buffy's head.   
What is she doing? Buffy first thought but soon her thoughts were replaced by a blinding light.   
Old memories flashed before her eyes, from her first memory to what she did that day.   
It began to sting in her head.   
The light faded and her sight was black.   
Then after a few seconds her sight of the alley returned.   
Buffy noticed that Reese had let go.   
"W-what...?" Buffy said shaking.   
"Wow,... funny how looks can deceive you." Reese mumbled, Buffy noticed that the smile was off of her face.   
"What're you talking about?" Buffy asked, she tried to take one step towards Reese but she felt that her sight blurred again, so she leaned to the wall again.   
"You don't know?" Reese asked.   
"What dyou mean, what...?" Buffy asked rubbing her temple.   
"You really d-..." Reese reconsidered and an evil grin enterd her face. "Smile."   
"What?" Buffy looked up. She was getting out of her mind, Buffy thought looking at Reese.   
Reese walked to Buffy.   
"Smile, Cuz I wanna kill ya with that pretty smile on your fa-" Reese was cut off by Xander breaking an empty bottle on her head.   
Reese didn't move.   
Then she turned to Xander, not seeming to get affected by the bottle.   
"You just killed yourself." Reese warned and grabbed his throat.   
Buffy saw her chance and kicked Reese in the side.   
She let go of Xander and hit the floor hard.   
Willow was there too and lifted a crate with her powers and threw it at Reese.   
It hit her head hard, she hit the floor again.   
When Reese looked up, the whole scooby gang was outside, helping Buffy.   
She saw it had no use.   
"Next time... you're dead." She said and retreated out of the alley.   
"Was that Reese?" Xander asked while rubbing his throat.   
Buffy nodded.   
"What a slut." Willow mumbled still looking at the place whare Reese dissapeared.   
"She really did look like Faith." Tara said.   
"That's the part I don't like." Xander said still rubbing his throat.   
"Maybe we could stock up at the magic box and find out what the who she really is." Buffy suggested.

"Bloody hell! Can't you soddin' watch where you're goin'?" Spike said when he bumbed into someone. It was Reese.   
"Hey, why are you in a rush?" He asked.   
"I bumbed into that bitchy slayer of yours, she thinks she's the queen of the world, ha, I'll show her." Reese said mad.   
"What did you do to her?" Spike wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. "Did you kill her?"   
"Of course I..." She stopped for a second. "Didn't kill her, but I was SO close!"   
"But you didn't?" Spike asked. She sighed.   
"Let's go back to your crypt okay?" Reese insisted and they walked back to Spike's crypt.

"Giles!" Buffy shouted when she entered the magic box the next afternoon.   
Giles stood with his hands loaded with boxes halfway the shop and almost dropped them when Buffy came in shouting.   
"Oh, eh, hi Buffy, wait, let me put these down for a second." Giles put the Boxes down on the shop's table.   
"What're ya doing?" Buffy asked curious.   
"Oh, eh, just packing a few things." He said not really answering her question.   
"Why?" Buffy asked confused.   
"He's leaving." Anya said angry from the other side of the shop.   
"You are WHAT?!" Buffy shouted.   
"I'm not leaving, I'm just staying some months in England to visit some relatives." Giles shushed Buffy, well, at least tried to.   
"That's leaving!" Buffy walked to Giles. "How can you leave? I mean with me not being dead and all, it's like you don't want to see me!"   
"No Buffy, that is seriously NOT the situation." Giles said defensively. At that point Willow, Tara and Xander walked in.   
"Hey guys..." Xander saw the boxes. "So Giles, Movin' into the store?"   
"No, suddenly he decided to go back to England." Anya said.   
"You're what?" Willow asked.

"It's not sudden." Giles snarled at Anya.   
"No, you decided it this morning, so now it's not so sudden anymore." Anya reacted.   
"You were going back without even telling?" Willow cried out.   
"Talking of being rude." Xander pumped it up.   
"Okay guys, quiet!" Buffy shouted. "You were leavin'? To England?"   
"Well, not for eternity, I'll be..." Giles started.   
"So, Yes, you were going?" Buffy asked. Giles nodded.   
"I can't believe this." Buffy mumbled and turned her back to Giles. She began pacing.   
"You can still ask me for help, just call me." Giles suggested.   
Buffy sighed.   
"You can do whatever you want... but right now, I need your help." Buffy tried not to think of Giles leaving and got to the point why she was there.   
"The reason why I was here was that we have a new vamp in town, one very unusual, strong and very dangerous."   
"Not to mention her O SO brilliant choice of wardrobe." Willow added.   
"I HAVE to know what I'm dealing with, she knows my every move, and she ded a weird little trick, it seemed to be a brain eating thing Glory did, only without the eating."

"Serious," Giles thought for a moment. "We must find out who she is, o-or what she must be..., are you sure she's a vampire?"   
Buffy nodded.   
"But what did she do to you? I mean dyou have dizzyness, headache?" Anya asked.   
"I-I don't feel any different, I'm not dizzy, no headaches, my brain are all complete..." Buffy said.   
"Maybe she was sucking out your energy, or worse she could be a killer spider Anya and I saw on discovery channel, she could be layin'her eggs in your brain, and when they hatch you're the first food mammie has brought them." Everyone looked at Xander like he was an alien.   
"What? It could happen!" He added.   
"Yes, Xander's right," Giles said and Buffy looked at him like he was crazy. "Maybe not about the killer spider theory, but it is very likely she is dangerous, for all of us. Maybe you should investegate more."   
"Investegate, check." Buffy mumbled.   
They started to search in the books in the magic shop.

Hours passed but they found nothing. Dawn had reported to Buffy that she'd be at Janice's that evening and Buffy had agreed.   
Buffy stared ahead and thought of going out on patrol when a note was slipped under the magic box's door.   
"What is that?" Buffy mumbled when she walked to the door. She picked up the note and opened the door. The person was long goen who put the note there.   
Buffy closed the door and looked at the note.   
  
_To Buffy,_   
  
It said. Buffy unfolded the note and stared at the message.   
  
_Unsolved mistery's, vol. 2. Page 197._   
  
"What is it?" Xander asked approaching Buffy.   
"I don't know, but about to find out." Buffy put the note on the table and turned to Giles.   
"Giles, dyou have a book called 'Unsolved mistery's volume 2' ?" She asked. Giles turned to the book shelves and picked out a book and handed it to Buffy.   
Buffy opened the book and began flipping to page 197.   
"Aha!" She yelled. All the scoobies gathered around.   
There was a picture of a beautiful nineteen years old girl.   
The picture was black and white but you could see clearly she had a very pale face and very dark hair, it curled down her shoulders. Her dress was grey.   
She stared emotionless into the camera.   
"That's Reese!" Xander said looking over Buffy's shoulder.   
"Yeah, when she was human." Buffy said. Giles took over the book.   
"Emma Cristianne Williams was the daughter and pride of Russel and Ann-Marie Williams." He read. "Russel and Ann-Marie moved to San Fransisco in 1850, Emma was born in 1855 and everything seemed on going well. Until Emma was fifteen. Emma somehow knew what some people were thinking, and a girl of her age claimed that Emma could read her mind. People became very frightened of Emma and friends rejected her. Her parents didn't support her, her own father even began calling her the Devil's daughter.   
In 1872 she dissapeared from the town. Russel and Ann-Marie never heard of their daughter again.   
People claimed that Emma had probably hanged herself out of frustration somewhere in the woods. But when Russel and Ann-Marie where found dead in their own bedroom no one doubted that Emma had come back and killed them." Giles finished reading.   
"Emma is Reese." Buffy mumbled.   
"But what about that 'getting into one's mind' thing? Don't they say anything about that?" Willow asked. "I-I mean... Is it real?"   
"Oh, it's very real, she did it to me yesterday." Buffy said.   
"Can there be any damage, I mean inside Buffy's head?" Willow asked.   
"I don't think so, if there would ever occure any damage or flaws, it would most likely occure to her." Giles said. "I know of reports of the watcher's council of a man who had this almost exact gift... he got much brain damage and he turned mad at one point, but it never affected other people."   
"That's very relieving." Buffy said.   
She looked at the note on the table with the clue.   
"But from who's that?" She asked herself.

Spike lay in his bed.   
Someone came down the ladder.   
Spike pretended he was sleeping, and he saw Reese climb down the ladder.   
Reese took one glare at Spike and tried to slip past the bed to the closet.   
"Where the hell dyou think you're going?" Reese frose by the sound of Spike's voice. She cursed and turned to Spike with a faked smile.   
"I thought you were asleep." She asked him.   
"I bloody wasn't," He stood up and walked to Reese. "So, You've been out?" Reese nodded. She looked down on her shirt.   
"I eh... got blood all over my shirt, I'd better go change." She said pointing at the dark stain on her red shirt. She turned away and walked to the closet.   
Before Spike's nose she took off her red tank top, revealing her black sports bra.   
Spike put his arms around Reese's bare stomach and whispered in her ear.   
"Why change? I'd like it this way." Reese smiled but was distracted by a sound Spike too heard.   
"What was that?" She asked. Someone seemed to be on the top level of the crypt.   
"I'll check it out." Spike said letting go of her and started up the ladder.   
Reese followed him. When they were on the top level they saw nothing.   
"What the...?" Spike was suddenly knocked out by a piece of wood.   
Reese turned to Spike's attacker. It was Buffy.

"Hey Emma." Buffy said playing with Reese.   
"So, you've figured me out?" Reese asked.   
"Well, yeah." Buffy said.   
"Ah, well, it doesn't matter." Reese raised her shoulders. Buffy swung the wood at Reese's head. Reese dodged it, but Buffy stook out the wood and hit her stomach.   
She crumbled to the floor.   
"You can't crush that through my heart." Reese said looking up.   
"Oh, I think I'm getting there, don't you worry." Buffy took a shot at Reese's heart, but Reese rolled away, making Buffy smash it to the ground.   
Reese kicked the wood out of Buffy's hands and she tackled Buffy.   
Buffy hit the ground hard.   
When she looked up she saw Reese coming her way.   
Buffy stood up and tried to kick Reese.   
Reese grabbed Buffy's foot and threw her to the wall.   
Buffy hit it hard and fell to the ground again.   
Reese grabbed behind her back, and pulled from her belt a silver dagger.   
She quickly brought it to Buffy's throat, before she could even react to the situation.   
"See, MY guess is that you haven't figured me out after all." Reese said mocking.   
Buffy felt the blade almost cutt through her skin, and there was nothing she could do about it.


	3. Demonized

**Demonized**

Buffy felt the blade begin to cut into her flesh of her neck. She closed her eyes.   
Then the blade's grip loosened and was pulled off fast.   
Buffy opened her eyes and saw that Spike had pulled off Reese. He held her arms hard behind her back, almost breaking them.   
"Spike!" She screamed out. "What are you doing?"   
"You can't do this!" Spike said grabbing the dagger from Reese.   
Buffy grabbed her throat and coughed a little. She looked up at Reese and Spike.   
Reese kicked backwards and hit Spike in his shins, while she did it she dropped the dagger and got loose.   
Buffy grabbed the dagger and stood up.   
She jumped at Reese and put the dagger in her side.   
Reese cried and punched Buffy off.   
She grabbed the dagger and pulled it out of her side.   
Non flowing blood dripped out of the wound slowly. Reese put her hand over the cut in her side to keep the pain low.   
She looked at Buffy, and then at Spike.   
"You helped her!" She said not believing what happened.   
"Reese, calm down..." He said but Reese didn't wanted to hear it. She turned and ran out of the crypt. Still with her hand over the wound, defeated.

"That's just great." Spike mumbled looking at the door where Reese ran out. "What were you thinking?"   
"Uhm, hello, SLAYER." Buffy said.   
Spike growled a little.   
"Yeah." He said.   
"So, dyou?" Buffy asked, Spike turned his head to Buffy.   
"What?" Spike asked.   
"Love her?" Buffy finished. Spike paused for a moment.   
"She's there..." Spike just said.   
"That's just typical you, get someone into bed who you don't even like, just for the fun?" Buffy blurted out. "Dyou need to throw love away for a howe like that? And I'm gonna tell you, you're better." Buffy said, and she meant it, every word.   
Spike looked at Buffy.   
"A-are you,... jealous?" Spike asked amused.   
"What?! NO!" Buffy shouted.   
"You are! You just can't handle the fact that you aren't loved anymore!" Spike said.   
Buffy smacked her fist in his jaw and Spike fell on the ground.   
"I am NOT jealous." She said demanding and walked out of the crypt with big steps.

Dawn was sitting in her class, bored, drawing pictures in her exercise-book.   
Suddenly the door to the class opened and a boy entered.   
"Class?" The teacher spoke. Everyone looked up. The boy walked to the teacher and then turned to the class.   
"This is Victor Larson, and he'll be joining us this year." The teacher continued.   
"He's cute." Dawn heard girls whispering behind her.   
"Victor, why don't you go and sit next to Dawn, Dawn, could you help Victor get to know the class and the school?" Dawn nodded and Victor walked to the empty seat next to her and sat down.   
"Hey." Victor said to Dawn when the teacher continued class.   
"Hey, I'm Dawn Summers." Dawn said and smiled at Victor.   
Victor smiled back and Dawn felt her cheeks getting red.   
She quickly looked away to the teacher, hiding her blushing.

"Dawn!" Dawn walked home but froze when she heard her name being called over the school area.   
She turned and saw Victor approach her.   
"Hey Victor." She said and smiled at him. He stopped next to her.   
"Wich way is your house?" Victor asked.   
Dawn pointed at a park and Victor smiled.   
"Yeah? That's my way home too, dyou care for some company?" Victor asked and Dawn nodded. Together they began walking.   
"So, Victor..." Dawn asked.   
"Please... all my friends call me Vic."   
"Okay, Vic, when did you moved to Sunnydale?" She asked.   
"Yesterday, I arrived very late but my aunt insisted on me getting to school..." Vic explained.   
"Hey, how funny, maybe you live in that house down my block, new people just moved in there yesterday." Dawn smiled.   
"Hey maybe, how long did you live here?" Vic asked.   
"Oh, I think like five years. When my mom and dad got divorced I moved here with my mother and sister."   
They walked into the street where Dawn lived.   
"Hey, here's my stop, is that your house?" Dawn pointed at a few houses away where some trucks where.   
"Yeah, hey we're practically neighbours... how nice." Vic said.   
"Hey, would you like to hang out or somethin,.. I've got nothing to do anyway." Dawn suggested and Vic nodded.   
"Would be fun."

"Yes, I kicked her butt, but I'm n-" Buffy was interrupted by Xander laughing. "What?" She asked.   
"You said 'butt, but...' and I..." He saw Buffy's face. "Never mind."   
"Like I said... But I'm not sure she'll stay away." Buffy continued.   
"Well, we have to prepair for another attack, and especially today." Giles said.   
Dawn came in and cleared her throat.   
"Ah, visitors." Buffy saw Dawn and Vic when she turned to the door.   
"Everyone, this is Victor... well Vic." Dawn said.   
"Hey Victor." Xander, Anya, Buffy, Willow, Giles and Tara said at the same time.   
Vic said hi back.   
"I didn't know this was a magic shop." He said looking around. "Dyou really sell things like rabbit feet and chicken claws?" Vic asked.   
Ëhm, nothing like that but we do have other things." Giles answered.   
Dawn and Vic sat down at the table. Vic saw the books lying open on the table.   
"So, are you guys witches?" Vic asked.   
"Yes we are, in day we are normal people but in night we hunt demons to save the world." Buffy said.   
Vic's face turned white.   
"I'm just kiddin' , Willow here likes to study this things." Buffy said and tapped Willow on the shoulder. The color returned into Vic's face.   
"Vic here moved here two days ago, I was planning on let him see Sunnydale." Dawn told Buffy.   
"Sounds good." Vic answered.   
"Just be back before dark okay?" Buffy told her sister.   
"Why, what's after dark?" Vic asked.   
"Ehm, nothing, she's just overprotective, affraid some creep wil jump me." Dawn told Vic.   
"Then I'll be there to back you up." Vic assured her.   
"Yeah okay, we'll be back before dark, but now..." Dawn turned around to hide her red gained face. "We're getting outta here." Dawn pulled Vic with her out of the magic shop door.   
"Don't you think that's the cutest thing?" Willow said.   
"At least she HAS a boyfriend." Buffy stood up. "So, Giles, if Reese DOES turn up again what dyou had in mind?"

Dawn and Vic walked to the little bar on the corner.   
"This is the coolest place where you can get coffee." Dawn told Vic.   
"Nice place." Vic noticed when he and Dawn took a place at a table. Dawn stopped and took out of her wallet some coins.   
"Well, dyou want some?" Dawn asked.   
"No thanks, don't drink any." Vic said.   
"Me neither, so, hot coco then, my treat?" Vic nodded.   
Dawn walked to the bar.   
  
"Hey Victor." Vic turned his head and saw a girl approach his table. Blond hair, pretty, his age.   
"Gladys? What're you doing here?" Vic asked surprised.   
"You know... " Gladys said flirting. She put her hand on his, but he pulled back.   
"Still... " He sighed. " Gladys, give it a rest! I'll not come with you! I told you once before!"   
"I won't stop." Gladys crossed her arms. "You'll come with me, if you like it or not!"   
"And WHY would I come with you?" Vic asked snarling.   
"Because in some way,... we're family, Victor, you might not know it, but we belong together." Gladys said demanding.   
Vic looked at her. Then he looked back at Dawn standing in line.   
"You'd better go, people are going to see you." Vic snarled again.   
"Oh, you mean your new GIRLFRIEND?" Gladys asked.   
"Yeah! Maybe! NOW GO!"   
Gladys took off mumbeling: "You'd better know what you are doing."   
  
"Who was that?" Dawn asked when she came back with two hot coco.   
"Ehm, who?" Vic asked while taking the coco.   
"That girl that was here just now." Dawn said.   
"Dunno, she asked for directions, she got really pissed when I didn't knew them either." Vic lied. He took a zip from his cup.

Buffy walked over the cemetery, patrolling.   
A vamp dug himself out of the grave.   
Buffy came quick in action and dusted the guy.   
  
"Great move." Spike said whom stood behind her.   
Buffy sighed and turned around, annoyed.   
"WHAT are you doing here?" She asked.   
"Just help you patrol." Spike answered.   
Buffy sighed again and turned away, she walked away from him.   
"Just don't get in my way or annoy me." Buffy warned and tried to continue her job.   
Spike followed her. In silence.   
"You know?" Buffy started standing still again. "Why aren't you with your Reese?" Buffy asked annoyed, still.   
"She took off remember,... haven't got any bloody thing to do without her..." Spike paused for a second. "Eh, no, that didn't come out right."   
Buffy rolled her eyes.   
"You pervert." She yelled at him. "Nothing more to do then rumble and tumble with her?"   
"I didn't mean to upset you!" Spike yelled back.   
"So don't talk about sex with Reese GODDAMMIT!" Buffy yelled and Spike was silent again.   
"I'm sorry," He said whispering. "I didn't mean t-"   
Buffy silenced him.   
Spike heard why.   
Footsteps approached them, from the trees behind them.   
Buffy and Spike duck behind a gravestone and waited for the owner of the footsteps to reveal.   
Spike was pressed close to Buffy.   
Buffy noticed it and her heart began to speed up.   
What the .... , Spike thought when he felt her heart speed up too.   
  
Someone ran out of the woods. Buffy's attention was drawn by it.   
It was a demon. Buffy saw in the moonlight that it had a grey face and blue vains running through it, it just seemed a kid-demon.   
Buffy attacked it right ahead.   
She stood up and ran at the demon.   
The demon saw Buffy approach and took a step back. Buffy slammed it to the ground and grabbed it's throat.   
"B-Buffy... pl..ea...se.." she heard coming out of the mouth of the demon. The demon transformed into his regular form and Buffy realized she was choking a teenage boy.   
She let go quickly. Her eyes whidened from what she saw.   
  
"VICTOR?!" She yelled and pulled the teenager up.   
"What the hell are you!" Buffy shouted holding his arm to keep him from running.   
"Come on! I can explain!" Vic said.   
"Right, then you can right ahead explain what you are doing with my sister!" Buffy shouted.   
"What's the matter?" Spike decided to join.   
"Spike, meet Dawn's new boyfriend." Buffy said.   
"She has a boyfriend... who's a DEMON?" Spike yelled.   
"Apparantly." Buffy said.   
"I-I'm not evil!" Vic tried.   
"Yeah, well, I heard that one before." Buffy said rolling her eyes.   
Spike's face fell.   
"If you didn't know before, you are in a lot more trouble than for Dawn finding out, I'm the slayer." Buffy said.   
"You're the ... Slayer?" Vic's face turned white.   
"Yeah, and I have the power to kill you here on the spot, cuz... HEY, you're a demon." Buffy said.   
"Eh... Buffy." Spike interrupted.   
"WHAT?!"   
"Tell me how you can explain in the morning to Dawn why you killed her boyfriend." Spike had a point Buffy realized.   
Vic saw his chance, he wriggled out of Buffy's grasp and ran off.   
Buffy wanted to ran after him but Spike grabbed her arm.   
Buffy shook off his hand.   
"He just want some time." Spike said.   
"Okay, but he's telling Dawn about it, voluntarily ... or I'll make him." Buffy said.

Dawn walked into the magic shop.   
"Hey Buffy." She greeted her sister who greeted back.   
"And how was your day?" Buffy asked.   
"Oh great, Karen, you know the snobby girl? She got a tatoo for her birthday from her parents, she showed it on school, she was just SO obviously drawing attention and WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Dawn ended her sentence seeing the two wiccans searching books.   
"Searching for a demon." Willow said not looking up from her books.   
"I bumped into one last night." Buffy explained.   
"What did it look like?" Dawn asked.   
"Oh, ehm... all grey, with this blue veins everywhere." Buffy told her. "And it looked kinda like a fish."   
"On land." Dawn filled her in.   
"Yeah, so ehm, can you tell me when you find something?" Buffy walked towards the training room but Willow called her back.   
"Hey, I-I found something." Willow held up the book, pointing at the picture.   
Buffy took a look at it and she nodded.   
"That's it."   
Dawn took over the book.   
"An Arkwuella demon?" She asked.   
"Arquella demon." Willow rephraised.   
"He has a skin hard like scales and his nature can be compared with that of a fish." Dawn read.   
"So it's a fish." Tara said.   
"On land." Buffy added. "That's your guy."   
"EW!!!" Dawn suddenly shouted still reading the book.   
"What?" Buffy asked.   
"the demon does not live on killing and eating humans but his animal behaviour forces him to casually torchure people, especially innocent and young, from the age of ten to eightteen." Dawn read. "The Arquella demon around 17th century in Russia kidnapped the thirteen year old daughter of the emperer and he got her back without her eyes, her heart pulled out and all of her bones broken including her scull." Dawn shivered. "The girl was wrapped up in gift paper and send to the emperer for his birthday."   
"That's just horrible." Tara said.   
Buffy stared at Dawn.   
Vic, she thought.   
"What?" Dawn asked. Buffy realized she had said it out loud. "You said Vic." Willow took back the book to study it.   
"Wic-.... ed, power they have to kill, -wicked-." Buffy felt so stupid.   
"Talking about Vic, where is he anyway?"   
"Oh, he didn't come to school either, sick maybe." Dawn responded. "So Willow how dyou kill it?"   
"By...," Willow began. "Salt."   
"Salt?" Tara, Buffy and Dawn said together.   
"So that's how we kill it?" Dawn asked.   
"WE? You mean I?" Buffy said.   
"Oh come on, like you can have all the fun!" Dawn stood up.   
"If you only think for one second that this I do is fun, you are wrong, it's horrible." Buffy shouted angrilly.   
"Well, I don't think it's horrible." Dawn said.   
"You're stupid." Buffy said. "Now excuse me, I have to train for the job I HATE, and you have to train for yours you hate ... Like your homework." Buffy said to Dawn and walked to the training room.   
Dawn sighed.

The cemetery was quiet. For one exception.   
A boy ran through the graves, running for his life. He was followed by two Arquella demons.   
  
The boy looked over his shoulder and tripped.   
The Arquella demons caught up with him.   
"No.... DON'T....!" The boy screamed, but the demons jumped him before he could finish his sentence.   
The demons grabbed his legs and his arms.   
"So, you don't think you could get away with it, don't ya?" A female appeared, running after the demons.   
A demon turned to her.   
"Get away Reese, this is our prey." It said.   
"Actually it's mine, you took it from me, by the by, since when do we steal eachother's food?" Reese asked with her hands on her hips.   
"Since you killed a nest of our kind in Brazille!" One of the demons answered holding the boy by his throat, so he wouldn't escape.   
"Yeah, and that was SO much fun." Reese said with a grin. "Still, that's mine." Reese pointed at the boy.   
One Arquella demon attacked her. It was the leader, and she slapped him. He punched back, in her face.   
Reese grabbed the leader and threw him over her shoulder against a tree.   
The demon hit the tree and then hit the ground.   
Reese pulled out her dagger and buried it deep in the heart of the Arquella.   
With one scream it died.   
Reese turned to the other demons.   
They stood there stunned.   
"Who's next?" She asked.   
One of the demons let go of the boy and together they ran away.   
"Thank you..." Reese looked at the boy who was in tears.   
"No problem," Reese neeled before him. "Are you okay?"   
The boy nodded.   
"So far yeah." Reese helped him up.   
"Good." Reese said with an evil voice. The boy looked up and saw Reese's game face. "Cuz I'm getting hungry."   
The boy screamed and Reese sank her teeth into his neck.

Buffy was in the training room of the magic box.   
She gave the boxing bag some good puches out of anger.   
"Are you pissed?" Spike came in through the back door.   
Buffy stoppde.   
"One more word out of that mouth and you'll fell how pissed I am." She threatenen him.   
"Well if you wanna fight..." Spike pulled off his leather coat. "Let's fight."   
Buffy turned around and walked to Spike.   
"You can't fight me." She said.   
"Let's see." Spike answered.   
Buffy swung a fist at his head.   
He blocked it. She swung up another and he blocked it too.   
"Don't hold back for me." Spike said hoarse. Buffy stopped holding back and gave him five punches in his face and two in his stomach.   
Then she tackled him, he hit the ground on his shoulder.   
"Enough?" She asked him.   
"Not even close." Spike stood up quickly and wanted to hit her against the head.   
He did, persued by a headache.   
Buffy held her hand to her head, where Spike hit her just now, and she looked up at him.   
She hit him in the chest with her fists and drove him to the wall.   
When Spike's back touched the wall she pinned hin against it, facing eachother nose to nose.   
"You knew you would lose." Buffy said, her heart racing. She let go of Spike and walked to the middle of the training room.   
Spike felt her heartbeat.   
Spike walked after her a bit and grabbed her shoulder to turn her around.   
"Buffy." He faced her again. She looked at him silently.   
Spike bent down to her and kissed her gently on the lips.   
Buffy didn't push him away, she kissed him back.   
Spike got deeper into his kiss and Buffy too.   
Buffy threw her arms around his neck when he threw his around her waist.   
Now it was Spike's turn to drive Buffy to the wall.   
He pushed her to it and they continued kissing.   
Spike's hands searched their way under Buffy's shirt to the closing of her bra.   
Buffy felt it and broke up their kiss.   
She pushed him off of her.   
Spike looked at her with a stunned face.   
Buffy didn't look at him but walked to the corner of the room. To a table.   
When she turned around she had a crossbow in her hands, loaded and aimed at Spike's heart.   
Spike took a step back.   
"Hey! Watch where you point those things." Spike said.   
"Out." Buffy only said.   
"No need to get bloody dusted over this luv." Spike said and Buffy shot off the arrow.   
The arrow was way off, it hit the wall next to Spike.   
Spike looked at Buffy, terrified form what she did.   
"BLOODY HELL WOMAN!" He shouted at her.   
"Don't be shocked, I didn't kill you." Buffy lowered the weapon.   
"You allmost bloody did!" He kept shouting.   
Buffy layed down the weapon next to her and turned back to Spike.   
"Next time, I will." The door of the training room opened and the scoobies came rushing in.   
"W-we heard yelling, is everything okay?" Dawn asked Buffy.   
"Yeah, Spike was just leaving." Buffy said not taking her eyes off of Spike.   
Spike pulled himself together and turned around.   
He grabbed his coat and turned back for one more glance at Buffy.   
"Go, before I kill you." Buffy answered his look.   
Spike shook his head, turned and dissapeared out of the back door.   
Dawn ran to her sister.   
"A-are you okay? Did Spike hurt you?" She asked.   
"Spike can't hurt me." Buffy said.   
"What did bleach boy wanted from you?" Xander asked who stood behind Dawn.   
"Nothing, I guess he was just pissin' me off for fun." Buffy told Xander.   
They heard someone enter the magic box.   
"I-is Dawn here?" They heard Vic's voice.   
Dawn walked out of the training room, followed by the rest of the scoobies.

"Hey Vic, why're ya here so late?" Dawn approached Vic.   
"Sorry, I had some buisness to take care of and I lost track of time." Vic answered. He saw Buffy give him the evil eye.   
"Vic," Buffy spoke. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"   
Before waiting for an answer she grabbed the boy by his arm and pulled him away from the group.   
In a whisper she spoke to him.   
"You gotta tell her today, if you don't, I will." Vic swallowed. Buffy let go of Vic and he walked back to Dawn.   
"What was that about?" Dawn asked.   
Vic took a glance at Buffy.   
"Dawn, can I speak to you in private?" He said to her.   
"Yeah sure." Dawn answered and walked together with Vic out of the shop.   
"So, what dyou wanted to talk to me about?" Dawn asked when they closed the door of the shop behind them.   
"Erhm, let's walk." Vic suggested uncomftorable.   
"Okay, it's already dark, I suppose you can walk me home." Dawn noticed.   
"Sure." Vic said and they began walking.   
There was a minute of horrible silence.   
"So, Dawn..." Vic began.   
"Yeah?" Dawn responded.   
"Erhm, you know I'm new, in Sunnydale." Vic continued.   
Dawn nodded.   
"A-and you don't know me very well, cuz that's ofcourse the cauze of being new." They walked further over the allmost pitch dark streets of Sunnydale.   
"But there was this -thing- I am supposed to tell you."   
"What?" Dawn asked him, still walking.   
"My family, -and- me, we're..." He paused, searching for words.   
"-Different- than others." Vic ended.   
"Oh, same here, I've got an uncle who is master of shooting olives with his nose... not something you're proud of.... It's just discusting." Dawn said quick.   
"Yeah, well, that's -too- different... but my family is not like that."   
"We're ..." Vic sighed not getting his confession over his lips.   
"Moer different than MY family.... oh, NO way!" Dawn said with whide eyes.   
"Yeah, more crazy." Vic responded. "Not that you are crazy, I mean you're funny and pretty...." Dawn stopped walking. They were near a park.   
"You said I was pretty?" She asked smiling. Vic blushed and smiled too.   
Suddenly Dawn's vision blurred and turned black.   
She was hit on the head with a wooden stick and she fell down into Vic's arms.

"I think it's cute." Willow said. She sat next to Tara at the shop's table.   
"What honey?" Tara asked.   
"Dawn and her boyfriend Vic." Buffy looked up at Vic's name. She sat at a stool at the glass counter of the shop.   
"Willow, there's nothing cute about it!" She tried to convince Willow.   
"It is, two kids like them, a couple." Willow continued.   
Buffy slammed the stake she was making and the knife hard on the counter as protest.   
"What's up with you." Xander asked carefully. Buffy sighed.   
"Nothing." Buffy said bitter.   
"No, there is –something-, Buffy." Willow concluded.   
"It's just… Nothing." Buffy repeated. And she continued on her stake.   
Xander walked to her.   
He grabbed her stake.   
"Hey! What you're doing right now is deadly, and a painfull deadly one." Buff said frustrated.   
"C'mon, what's up with you?" Xander asked.   
Buffy stood up.   
"Nothing." She walked to the middle of the magic box and turned back to the scoobies.   
"Vic, that's up…." She finally shot out.   
"What? Is he wrong for Dawn?" Anya asked from behind the counter.   
"YES,… NO!.... sorta…" Buffy began pacing.   
"I mean he's nice and stuff, he's attractive …. Like Dawn would be attracted to… but…. Not ugly…"   
"What's your point?" Xander asked.   
"Vic is….." She couldn't say it.   
"What?" Anya asked.   
"Vic's a demon." She said it.   
Anya smiled a little.   
"Oh." Anya said.   
"WHAT?!" Xander shot out. Anya looked at him.   
"What? Is that not good?" Anya asked.   
"A demon? And he's right now alone with Dawn?" Xander shouted.   
"Xander cool down, he's not gonna kill her." Buffy defended Vic.   
"Since when did he gained your trust?" Xander asked.   
"There's something, in his eyes, he's different." Buffy explained.   
"You've becoming more and more soft for those monsters." Xander said.   
"What is that suppose to mean?" Buffy asked on a demanding tone.   
"Spike…." Xander began.   
"Oh, so everything has to do with Spike now all of a sudden? Spike can't kill anymore, the chip…"   
"Screw the chip, he can manipulate and he can kill, but now through an equal….. Reese." Xander cut her off.   
Buffy just stood there, not saying a thing.   
"You're wrong." Buffy whispered. She didn't knew why she was still protecting Spike.   
Suddenly the silence was broken by the door being slammed open.   
Vic entered breathing hard.   
"DAWN! THEY TOOK DAWN!!!" He screamed.   
Willow and Tara stood up out of shock.   
"WHAT?!!!" Buffy screamed.   
"WHO?!" Xander approached him.   
"They took her, near the park." Vic shouted.   
"Vic, calm down, who?" Buffy grabbed him by the shoulders.   
"Boris took her.!" Vic said.   
"Who is Boris?" Buffy asked again.   
"M-my uncle." Vic answered.   
Buffy's expression changed.   
"If anything happens to her, I hold you responsible." Buffy said angry.   
Vic nodded.   
"Show me the way." Buffy said.

Dawn came to.   
"So, the bird is up." She heard a male voice.   
"Don't touch her, remember that he will not join us if we kill his mate, or even harm it." A woman's voice spoke.   
Dawn opened her eyes and stared into a pair of male brown eyes.   
She crept backwarts.   
"Oh, don't be affraid, I won't hurt you,... well... not yet." The man said.   
Dawn tried to speak back but her mouth was tape shut. Her arms and legs were tied together with rope.   
There was no where she could go right now.   
Dawn looked around, she was in a basement.   
Who's basement, Dawn thought, and what do they want?   
The woman sat on a brown couch opposite from Dawn.   
The man stood some where in the middle.   
Dawn heard a door in the upper level close.   
"We're down here!" The female shouted up.   
The door to the basement opened and a girl stood in the opening. It was the girl at the cafe! Dawn noticed.   
She had black jeans and a pink tank top on.   
"Hey mom... hello, what are you doing?" She asked seeing Dawn.   
"We saw Vic with her so we took her." The man explained.   
Dawn freaked out when Vic's name was called, what had it got to do with him?   
"Oh please take that thing off of her mouth." The girl said and the man took the tape off of her mouth.   
"You, you were the girl at he cafe!" Dawn said after the man took off the tape.

"Hey, she's smart." The blond girl said and sat down next to her mother on the brown couch. Something in her voice sounded sarcastic.   
"What does this have to do with Vic?" The blond girl glared evilly at Dawn and grinned.   
"We're family." The man said and then his face changed.   
Into something unhuman. Grey with blue veins.   
Dawn held her breath.   
It had no nose, chills and no hair.   
The girl and the mother did it too.   
They too looked like the man.   
"Are you family of Vic?" Dawn said panicking.   
"Yes, and there's no person who can change that." The girl changed back into her human form.   
"Vic Belongs to me," She walked to Dawn. "You want to take him? You'll have to get past me."   
Then the door to the basement opened and a woman's face came round it.   
"Gladys, Boris, Annie... What are you guys doing?" The woman asked.   
"This is the female that wants to steal Victor away." The man named Boris said.   
"Oh, you guys... LET HER GO!" The woman began walking down the stairs. "Victor made up his mind, don't you go forcing him."   
Boris stepped up to block her way to Dawn.   
"Boris, get away." The woman said demanding.   
"No." Boris said. Gladys backed him up.   
"You can't go past us, she's ours." Gladys said.   
With one blink the woman's eyes turned black.   
"Let her go, or I'll-"   
"You'll what?" The woman named Annie stepped forward.   
The unknown woman raised her hand and the three demons flew up and fell to the wall.   
The woman's eyes turned normal again and she walked to Dawn.   
"Let's get you loose." The woman mumbled and wriggled Dawn's hands loose from the rope.   
The woman helped her up.   
"Let's get you home." Dawn walked thankful with the woman up the stairs, out of the house.

===============================================================================

"Who are you?" Dawn asked when the woman led her to a car that was parked outside. The woman held the door for her but Dawn stopped.

"Just step inside, then I'll tell you." She said and Dawn stepped into the car. When the woman started the car she began talking.

"My name is Jill." She said not looking at Dawn, she was watching the road while driving.

"And who are you if I may ask." Jill asked finally taking one look at Dawn.

"I'm Dawn." Dawn said with a soft voice. 

"Dawn, of course…" The woman mumbled. She turned her head to Dawn. "Victor has told me about you, you are in his class right?" Dawn nodded.

"What's up with Vic?" Dawn said before she could stop herself. When the sentence was out she wished she hadn't said a thing.

"What?" Jill asked.

"Well, those people said that he was family of them… but he can't be… can he?" Dawn asked looking at Jill. Jill didn't say a thing. Jill pulled over the car and stepped out.

"We're here." She said and Dawn too got out of the car. Dawn saw her house at the end of the block.

"I live there." She said to Jill. Jill looked at her.

"Yeah, Vic told me you were practically neighbours. I live here." Jill pointed at the house before them.

"You live with Vic?" Dawn asked. Jill nodded.

"I'm his aunt. He lives with me since his mother died." Jill answered. "Dyou wanna come in? Or shall I bring you home?" 

Dawn shook her head.

"No one's home, I'll come in with you." Dawn said and followed Jill into the house. 

"Dyou like any tea?" Jill asked walking into the kitchen. Dawn nodded and sat down at the chair Jill pointed her. While Jill made them some tea, Dawn looked around in the kitchen. 

All kinds of powders and herbs stood on the shelves. Dawn recognised them because Willow too had that standing in her room. Dawn had already noticed in the basement Jill was a witch, but this confirmed it.

"Since when are you a witch?" Dawn said when Jill finished and put the cups of tea in front of her.

"As long as I can remember, my sister, Victor's mother, was one too. Well she was until she met that man of hers, Victor's father, Raymond." Jill told Dawn. Dawn had stopped panicking from the stuff in the basement, and now she noticed in Jill's voice she was sounding a bit like Giles. Maybe English too, she thought.

"They moved from England," Bingo, Dawn thought. "And I moved with them, to LA, there they created a family, so they had Victor." Jill explained. Dawn took a zip from her tea. "That Raymond wasn't to be trusted, I told her, but she wouldn't listen."

"What happened?" Dawn asked. Jill sighed.

"He finally told her he was a de-" Jill stopped and looked at Dawn. "Donut salesman..."

"Jill it's fine, I do know about Demons." Dawn said and Jill frowned.

"How dyou…?" She asked.

"My sister is the slayer." Dawn said. 

"Oh,… THE slayer?" Dawn nodded.

"Okay, where was I?" Jill said. 

"Raymond was a demon."

"Oh Right, Raymond was a demon, and Cally, Victor's mother, made me his guardian, cause she knew Victor wasn't safe with her, and a week after she did this she died." Dawn listened with open mouth.

"What did she die of?" Dawn asked carefully.

"Raymond killed her, I know it. Because he wanted his son to be brought up in the Arquella community." Jill said.

"Vic's an Arquella demon?" Dawn's eyes grew wide.

"Yeah, but I brought him up, he'll never do things his father would EVER do." Jill assured her.

"You are sure?" Buffy asked when she, the scoobies and Vic stood in front of Boris' house.   
"Positive, he lives here." Vic said and Buffy walked to the front door.   
She kicked it open.   
"Hey calm down! You're responsible if this is the wrong house!" Xander said.   
"No..." Buffy said. "He is." She gestured towards Vic.   
"Hey!" Vic said but Buffy ignored him.   
"Dawn?!" She yelled through the house.   
She heard something up stairs.   
"Upstairs." She said and ran up.   
In the hallway she looked around.   
"Dawn?!" She yelled once more. Somebody locked the door next to her.   
Buffy's glance shot to the door and her hand to the handle.   
Of course it was locked and Buffy took a step back.   
She lifted her foot and kicked it in.   
The door fell out of the locks on the floor.   
Buffy rushed inside and saw two women and a man stand inside the room.   
She rushed to the man, who was the nearest, and lifted him by his throat.   
  
"WHERE IS MY SISTER?!"

"Are all of these yours?" Dawn asked walking to a shelve full of trophies. They were from horse riding.   
Jill nodded.   
"I used to ride a lot when I lived in England." She explained.   
"I've never sat on a horse before, only been to a race once." Dawn told Jill. "My mom didn't like it, well she liked we spend some time with my dad but she didn't like the fact that he had bet on one of the horses, she got really pissed."   
"Well, that's one way to use horses. I really love taking care of them, I had a horse when I was your age." Jill said.   
Dawn nodded.   
"Mom used to like horses a lot."   
"Not anymore?" Jill asked.   
"She died." Dawn said and a silence crept into the room.   
"Ow." Jill finally got out of her mouth. "I'm sorry."   
There was an awfull pauze after that.   
"Do you only live with your dad then?" Jill tried.   
"My mom and dad are divorced, he lives in LA, Buffy takes care of me." Dawn said and Jill was quiet again.   
  
Suddenly they heard a noise coming from teh front door of the house.   
The doorbel rang and Jill stood up.   
Jill opened the door.   
"You must be Buffy." Dawn heard Jill say.   
"I-is my sister here? Dawn?" Her sister spoke.   
Footsteps left the hallway and walked to the kitchen.   
"Dawn!" Buffy entered the kitchen and took her sister in for a hug.   
"Did they hurt you?" Buffy asked concerned. The scoobies and Vic followed.   
"No, not much." Dawn answered letting go of her sister.   
"Thank you, for..." Buffy turned to Jill.   
"No problem, it seems tha Dawn here met the tip of the iceberg called the Arquella community." Jill said. "We're not freed of them yet."   
"yeah, I've noticed that." Buffy shot a quick glance at Vic.   
"Anyway, I'll be glad to help. If you need it." Jill offered. Buffy looked at Jill.   
"Sorry, didn't introduced myself, My name is Buffy..." Buffy started.   
"The Vampire slayer, I know, I'm Jill." Jill ended.   
"Nice to meet you," Buffy said and turned to Dawn. "Shall we go home?"   
Dawn nodded and stood up.   
"Thank you for the tea." Dawn said to Jill and dissapeared out of the house with her sister and the scoobies.   
Vic turned to Jill.   
"I blew it didn't I?" He asked and Jill nodded.

A demon, He's a demon.   
It spooked around in Dawn's head.   
She lay in bed, thinking about the day.   
The one guy I finally like... and he's a demon.   
After some hours of thinking she finally fell asleep.   
  
***   
The next day she woke up from her alarm clock going off.   
She stood up slowly.   
School, she thought, again.   
She hated the fact to be in one room with Vic more than the idea of school.   
She got dressed and walked down stairs.   
"Hey Buffy." She greeted her sister soft.   
"Hey Dawnie." Buffy greeted her back.   
Dawn grabbed the cereal box and poured some in a bowl.   
Buffy handed her some milk.   
"Okay, know what? Don't be quiet like this just over a guy." Buffy said. Dawn shot her a glance.   
"Okay, so it isn't just JUST a guy, but still." Buffy corrected.   
Dawn didn't reacted.   
She ate her bowl empty and stood up.   
"I'm going to school." Dawn said and grabbed her schoolbag.   
  
***   
"Hey Dawn..." Vic leaned over to her desk. Dawn didn't reacted.   
"Dawn?" Vic asked again.   
"Vic, do you like detention?" The teacher asked.   
"No sir." Vic turned to the teacher.   
The teacher continued with his class.   
After two minutes someone threw a folded paper on Dawn's desk.   
She unfolded it.   
- 'Can we talk?' - It said.   
She took her pen and wrote an answer on it.   
She threw it back to Vic's table, who unfolded it.   
- 'What's there to talk about?' -   
  
***   
That afternoon Dawn walked home alone.   
She'd seen Vic and avoided him immediately.   
She just didn't felt like talking to him.   
When she got home she ran upstairs immediately and sat down on her bed.   
She rested her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. She started sobbing soft.   
Someone knocked on the door.   
Dawn quickly whiped her tears away.   
"Dawn? Are you okay?" Buffy asked.   
"Yeah just doing my homework." She yelled back and grabbed her books from her bag quickly.

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Vic ran to the door. When he opened it he saw the blond slayer standing outside.

"Buffy, hey." Vic said.

"Hey Vic." Buffy greeted him. "We need to talk."

Vic let her in and closed the door behind her.

"About what?" Buffy looked at him.

"You damn well know about what." Buffy sneered.

"Dawn." Vic whispered. 

"Yeah, she's taking this hard, this about you." Buffy said. 

"What can I do about it?" Vic asked.

"Well not be her friend in the first place, but I think that's too late now." Buffy crossed her arms. "What do you think you should do?"

Vic thought.

"I'll go talk to her." Buffy nodded.

"That'll be a good start."

"But what do I say?" Vic asked

"I don't know, maybe apologize…" Buffy suggested.

"Apologize? Of me being a demon?"

"Apologize for you not telling her you were a demon." Buffy said.

Vic sighed.

"That'll probably be the best." Vic said and Buffy nodded.

Buffy turned away from him and headed back to the door.

"Buffy?" Buffy turned back.

"I'm a demon, and you are a slayer, …. Why didn't you kill me?" Vic asked.

Buffy didn't answer, she turned away again and walked out of the house.

***

That day at school Dawn still ignored Vic.   
At her way home he caught up with her.   
"Hey Dawn?" Vic walked next to her. She ignored him.   
"Oh please don't ignore me, it's not my fault..."   
She suddenly turned to him.   
"Yes it is!" She said.   
"How?" Vic asked.   
"I don't know, it just is." She tried to walk away, but Vic didn't let her go.   
He grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.   
With this action she dropped her bag on the ground.   
"I'm sorry." Vic apologized and picked up her bag.   
Dawn didn't said a thing.   
"The point just is,... the chance I get killed is higher with you than with a normal guy." She finally said. "And I nearly got killed thanks to you, so why would I trust you?"   
Vic grabbed her hand but she pulled away.   
"Don't..." She whispered.   
"What?" He asked.   
"Don't touch me, don't follow me,... I never want to see you again." She said looking him in the eyes. "The next time you come near me, my sister will definately kill you." She said and turned to walk away.   
Vic kept quiet and saw her walk away.

Buffy sat on the wooden bench in her backyard. It was night. She stared up at the night sky and thought about the day.  
The summers' house was dark.   
"Why aren't you inside?" Spike approached her. "You know, warm in your comfy little fluffy bed?"   
Buffy turned her gaze at the bleached vamp.   
"I just got back from patrolling." She explained. "Didn't feel like going in."  
"Ow," Spike walked closer. "Mind if I join you?"   
Spike didn't waited for an answer and sat down next to Buffy.  
"Why are you here?" It was Buffy's turn.  
Spike looked at her.  
"Haven't got anywhere else to go." Spike answered. Buffy looked at him with a yeah-sure-how-come-I-don't-believe-ya-look.  
"I mean it!" Spike protested.  
"Sure, and what happened to Reese? Isn't your fun bunny so fun anymore?" Buffy mocked.  
"She isn't a bunny okay?!" Spike defended Reese.  
"Sure, if you say so." Buffy said laughing.  
There was a pause. Spike was searching for another subject.  
"How did the niblet take it?" Spike suddenly said.  
"What?"   
"The whole Demon/Boyfriend thing,"   
"Ow that, she took it better than I expected." Buffy said. "And okay, she still locked herself in her room but that's one of the same things I did when I found out about Angel."  
Spike flinched a little when she said Angel's name.  
"So everything's okay?" Spike checked.  
"Yes,… and… how come are you so interested?" Buffy asked looking at him.  
Spike looked back.  
"Oh my god." She saw it in his eyes. He was still in love with her.  
"Still?" She asked.   
"Is it your problem?" Spike defended.  
"YES!" She shouted, trying to keep her voice down. "I am the one who you are in love with remember?!"  
"Okay, I'm sorry." Spike said soft.  
"Ow." Buffy was silent for a moment. She didn't expected him to apologize. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all…  
"And I'm sorry for that time in the magic box." Spike continued. Buffy frowned.  
"The last time… when I kissed you." Spike helped her.  
She didn't said a thing. She only felt sorry for him.  
"I'm sorry." He repeated once more.  
"You'd better be." Buffy shot out. She flinched.   
She didn't wanted to say those words, but they suddenly escaped her mouth.  
"BLOODY HELL, I AM! Even when I accidentally sent evil bitch bunny your way." Spike shouted, too holding his voice soft.  
"I tried to make it alright by giving you that letter." Spike said.  
"You wrote that letter? About that information of Reese?" Buffy said with a small voice.  
"Yeah." Spike said.  
Buffy felt small. How could she still hate him this much, even if he had done everything for her.  
"Sorry for not being your average big bad." Spike said.  
"Don't be." This was the first sweet word that escaped her mouth. "I am sorry for what I have treated you the past years."   
Spike looked at her. She was apologizing, to me?  
Spike leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on her mouth.  
When he pulled back he looked at her again.  
She didn't spoke. She stared at him, stunned.  
Then she leaned to him and kissed back.


End file.
